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The Chaos of Learning

Another thing that Josh Waitzkin mentioned from the interview I listened to yesterday with Tim Ferriss was:

When he (Josh) was playing chess instead of plotting multiple moves ahead or trying to guess what his opponent would do next he would create choas in the game to see how his opponents would react to moves that made no sense.

Instead of learning how they played chess he was more interested in learning how they thought in chaotic situations.

By doing this he was studying the opponent and how they thought instead of the game they were playing.

Also by doing this he increased his chances of winning because he understood the opponent and their mental process behind the moves he/she would make.

In the end the game in front of them was more of a tool to learn then it was to win.

Winning was icing on the cake, but what he learned about his opponent was far move valuable.

What are your thoughts about creating choas in a situation or environment to try to learn from the chaos?

Are you willing to accept that due to chaos you won't know what the outcome may be?